Ex-Mayor Of Middletown Named As State Elections Watchdog

JON LENDER

The State Elections Enforcement Commission Thursday named former Middletown Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano, an attorney, as its new executive director and general counsel – an unusual move that transforms Giuliano suddenly from an elected politician to a regulator of politicians.

Giuliano, 59, a Republican who was defeated in the November election as he sought a fourth term as mayor, will start Jan. 20 in the $100,000-plus-a-year job from which Albert P. Lenge retired in September.

Giuliano was asked in a phone interview how he’ll handle the switch from a partisan political position to an impartial watchdog's role over compliance by candidates and office holders with state election laws. He said: “I think anybody who’s ever had to deal with me … knows that I have been very fair, and I tend to be a stickler for the rules. I would always prefer to do what I thought was right over what I thought might be in my political interests; if I’d done what was in my political interests, I might still be mayor today.”

He said he thinks people in Middletown “will all tell you that I’m pretty much a straight shooter. I don’t let the party label get in the way. Right is right, and right doesn’t have a party.”

Would he hesitate to aggressively go after another politician over an infraction – just as some professional athletes-turned-TV commentators hesitate to challenge sports figures with tough questions in their new journalist’s role?

Giuliano replied: “Give a call to Middletown City Hall and ask them if they think I was aggressive as mayor. … I aggressively pursued what I thought I thought was the right thing to do. And I don’t back down from stuff.”

However, he added that he hopes candidates will continue to consult the enforcement agency as a resource to avoid running afoul of state election laws. “Ask first, and we’ll get you the answer,” he said. “It’s not our job as a regulatory body to play ‘gotcha.’ It’s our job to keep the process clean. … The goal is to keep the process fair and to keep the playing field level.”

Giuliano stood out in a crowded field of more than 30 applicants, officials at the election agency said. The chairman of the enforcement commission, Stephen F. Cashman, said, “In light of the challenges we face in the area of public campaign financing and agency consolidation issues, I have every confidence that Sebastian Giuliano possesses the knowledge and experience to lead the commission, and I welcome him to his new position. … We believe he is the right guy for the job.”

The commission will formalize Giuliano's appointment with a vote next week, agency officials said.

Giuliano practiced as an attorney for more than 20 years after obtaining his law degree from Catholic University in 1978. He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and was graduated in 1975 from Boston College.

Giuliano said he has removed himself from consideration for a new term on his local Republican Town Committee after his current one ends in coming months. He said he had never been the subject of an elections enforcement commission investigation when he was active in Middletown politics.